$2.1M Economic Development Administration grant to aid local businesses

Tuesday

Feb 6, 2018 at 12:00 PM

Lakeshore Advantage has also assisted Fairlife and Continental Dairy in securing $2.4 million in Michigan Business Development Program Grant funds from the state of Michigan to help install an on-site wastewater pre-treatment unit in 2017.

Austin. Metz @hollandsentinel.com, (616) 546-4290

The U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration has announced an investment of $2.1 million to aid a $6 million project to provide a sustainable water supply for growing businesses and additional capacity for future development.

The initiative, which was aided by Zeeland's Lakeshore Advantage, will support Fairlife LLC's installation of a fourth milk products bottling line in its Coopersville facility.

Jennifer Owens, president of Lakeshore Advantage, talked about how difficult EDA grants are to acquire and touched on the fact that this comes after years of work.

"This grant award has been over two years in the making, with countless hours spent pouring over data and information, with much rewriting, collaborating and research," Owens said. "Perseverance and patience paid off in this instance, not only for the city of Coopersville, but also for the major employers and neighboring communities."

The water supply improvements are also expected to allow additional business growth for two metal fabricators, Conveyor Concepts and Ranger Die Inc.

Between the three businesses, there is expected to be $54.5 million in investments and the creation of 70 jobs.

"As Fairlife continues to grow, so do the demands on local infrastructure," said Anders Porter, Fairlife VP of communications. "We're incredibly grateful for the investments made by the EDA to support infrastructure improvements in West Michigan. Special thanks as well to Lakeshore Advantage and the city of Coopersville for supporting this key initiative."

Lakeshore Advantage first prepared an EDA grant application on behalf of the city of Coopersville in 2015, but the application was not approved because of strong competition in the region for limited federal funds.

The EDA federal grant is expected to fund one-third of the construction upgrade of the municipal water system traversing portions of the city of Coopersville, Allendale Township and Polkton Township.

Along with the EDA's investment of $2.1 million, Allendale Township and Polkton Township are each contributing $385,280 to the project.

Lakeshore Advantage has also assisted Fairlife and Continental Dairy in securing $2.4 million in Michigan Business Development Program Grant funds from the state of Michigan to help install an on-site wastewater pre-treatment unit in 2017.

— Follow this reporter on Twitter @SentinelAustin or @BizHolland.

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